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The many fans of Great Falls MMA welterweight fighter Tim Welch got a bad break on Friday night.

Welch suffered a fractured jaw in a second-round loss to Dejan Kajic in the main event of an Intense Championship Fighting card at Centene Stadium.

Welch was unable to talk on Saturday, but texted that he suffered the injury on the second punch of the fight.

"I couldn't close my mouth and after the first round on the stool I knew something was wrong," he said in a text message. "I tried to tough it out as long as I could but the fight just went downhill from there.

"I felt I was winning the fight but just had some bad luck."

Terrill Bracken, owner and CEO of Fusion Fight League, which sponsored the show, said Welch's performance was amazing.

“For him to continue as long as he did is remarkable," Bracken said. "It really says a lot about Tim Welch.”

Welch, 27, is a former Great Falls High football player and wrestler who has been a professional MMA fighter for several years. The 170-pounder has a pro record of 14-6.

Welch was taken to the hospital Friday night following the fight.

“From what I understand,” said Bracken, “he has a fractured jaw and is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.”

Said Welch: "I will get a plate put in there next week and will be OK. Thanks to Great Falls for the support."

A crowd of about 1,000 attended the fights at the ballpark. Bracken said it was difficult to notice early on that Welch was injured.

“When he first got hit, you could see he was affected,” Bracken said. “But he seemed to recover from it very quickly. He really looked phenomenal early in the fight. His footwork and movement was so crisp. And even with a broken jaw, he was still stalking like crazy.
“Tim’s ‘Montana tough.’ This is a setback, but I think Tim will come back better and stronger.”

Bracken said he talked with people close to Welch on Saturday.

“I think Tim is processing things right now,” Bracken said. “The most important thing is he gets healed up and moves forward.”

Fusion recently purchased ICF from 221 Industries. There are plans for more pro MMA fights in Great Falls in the near future.

“We have a show scheduled Oct. 20 at Four Seasons Arena,” Bracken said. “We’re calling it ‘Beauties and Beasts.’ It will be a half-male, half-female card with some exciting female pro fights. We’ve got fighters coming from as far away as Florida.”

Bracken said professional Theron Martin of Great Falls, who fights for Team Wolf Pack, will be on the card.

Bracken said the level of competition at Friday night’s show under the lights at Centene Stadium was top-notch. It’s believed to be the first time Welch, who submitted to a choke hold in the second round, has lost a professional MMA bout in his hometown.

Kajic, of Coquitlam, British Columbia, is 8-6-2 as a professional.

“It’s one of those things where I have mixed emotions about it,” Bracken said. “You really like to see hometown fighters do well, but you also want them to grow. That’s part of our job, to take Montana fighters to next level. At the same time we don’t want to match them up with super-easy opponents. So our mantra in matchmaking has been ‘no easy fights’; that’s what we’re committed to. We want to bring in a high level of competition and challenge all Montana fighters to grow and improve.”